Flying Tigers Post Office in Chongqing, China

Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality has set up a post office named after the Flying Tigers, a U.S. air squadron that helped the Chinese fight Japanese aggressors during World War II.

Authorities say the move is to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the anti-Japanese war.

The Flying Tigers, a group of ex-pilots from the U.S. military, were formed in 1941.

Led by Claire Chennault, it flew over China to combat Japanese invaders during World War II, as China’s air force was destroyed not long after the war began.

On Wednesday, a “flying tiger post office” was opened to the public in Chongqing, a metropolis in southwest China.

Postcards sent by this post office will be stuck with General Chennault commemorative stamps and imprinted with a special postmark.

And the first postcard issued was sent to General Chennault’s wife Anna Chan Chennault in the U.S. at the opening ceremony.

SOUNDBITE (CHINESE): DAI QINGBIAO, Curator, Chongqing Flying Tiger Museum
“Today marks the 78th anniversary of the start of China’s eight-year resistance against the Japanese invasion. We set up this post office to remind the ordinary people of that part of history. Only by remembering national humiliation, can we cherish today’s peace.”

Chongqing was China’s wartime capital during WWII, and a command center for the Flying Tigers.

Between December 1941 and September 1945, the U.S. volunteer group shot down thousands of Japanese military planes and killed 66,700 Japanese soldiers.